Box Score

WINONA, Minn. — For a brief moment, the Saint Mary's University men's tennis team enjoyed a 2-1 lead over St. Olaf in their Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference match at the SMU Tennis Center Friday evening.

Unfortunately, before the Cardinals knew what hit them, that 2-1 lead turned into a 4-3 deficit and SMU could not make up the lost ground as the Cardinals fell to the Oles 5-4.

"It was a heartbreaker, no doubt about it," said SMU coach Jeff Halberg, whose teams dropped to 0-2 in the MIAC and 3-2 overall with the loss. "We played very well in doubles and came out with a 2-1 lead, but St. Olaf really came out flying in singles — winning at four, five and six to take a 4-3 lead with matches at No. 1 and No. 3 left."

The Cardinals needed wins at both to claim their first MIAC win of the season, but came up just short as Tyler Stevenson (Neenah, Wis.) survived in three sets at No. 1 (6-7, 6-4, 11-9), but Adam Solseth (Shakopee, Minn.) wasn't as fortunate at No. 3, as he dropped a three-setter, 6-2, 6-7, 10-3.

"It was a great match," said Halberg, who also got a 6-1, 6-2 singles win from Mark Leeder (Greenfield, Wis.), while the doubles teams of Stevenson-Leeder and Solseth-Tony Miller (Rochester, Minn.) were also victorious. "You have to give St. Olaf credit, they didn't get down (after the doubles matches). It's tough to lose a match that's that close, but we fought hard — the ball just didn't want to bounce our way."